I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)

Since this post would be moot point come the Results show tonight I figured I would help give an idea of various dances and what not that are available from throughout the seasons:

Looking at the above breakdown there are eight dances that had minimal exposure throughout the series, but do I define “seldom used dances”? Well they are those dances that we have only seen once in a small handful of seasons. When looking at the number counts there are eight dances that were danced less than 25 times… actually the most from this group would be 11. Here are those dances and when they were featured:Season 7 Week 5
Hustle, Jitterbug and West Coast Swing

Season 8 Week 4
Lindy Hop

Season 9 Week 4
Bolero, Charleston, Lambada and Two-Step

So now let’s look at how the dances scores were averaged and compared to one another:

Let us also look at the dances that are not in the Top Ten highest scoring dances and see where all the other dances lie:

Those dances highlighted in “yellow” are those that not only have had minimal exposure on the show, but also scored rather low in the grand scheme of things. Those dances that are highlighted in “pink” are those that have had some exposure on the show but still scored low. If anything… if I was helping produce the show I would probably use the above dances (and maybe include other dances that have had minimal exposure on the show like the Charleston, Jitterbug, Lambada, and Hustle) as the pool of dances to be used for the upcoming week.

Looking through all the dances that have been featured on the show and have had some exposure I realized some interesting things. There were several dances that were introduced into the show in the midway point of the series and have been staples ever since (Argentine Tango, Viennese Waltz), while there were other dances that were “taking a break” as it were but then have been staples since them (Salsa, Tango, Waltz).

The Mambo was only featured for a handful of seasons in the middle of the series: Seasons 3 thru 7.

So knowing all this… which dances did I pull the below preferences from? Well the easiest would be the following: Bolero, Lindy Hop, Two-Step and West Coast Swing. These four dances not only got the least amount of exposure on the show but also had average low scores during their short run on the series.

The Mambo has been on the show for only five seasons and was scored low frequently so I would toss that dance into the mix.

Finally what about the other four? Aka the Charleston, Hustle, Jitterbug, and Lambada? It is hard to say since they ranked high on the scoring table. I tended to shy away from these dances in my quick analysis below, but feel free to include these in your comments if you feel inclined that you’d like to see a particular celebrity dance these dances.

So my final pool would be from Bolero, Lindy Hop, Two-Step, West Coast Swing and Mambo.

But before we start figuring out what dances would provide a challenge to each of the dancers… let’s look at who has already attempted any of the above dances?

So in regards to dances: Shawn, Melissa and Gilles all have a little bit of an edge by having done the Lindy Hop in their original season, but the Lindy Hop had an average score that is in the higher half. Personally, if I were to choose dances that I would like to see next week they would include the Bolero, West Coast Swing and Lindy Hop.

So knowing the above… what dances could possibly challenge the individual dancers? (Warning very long post to follow)Read more..

My life can be summed up in the following two quotes: 1) "I am married to engineering and am its faithful wife by day, but at night my wanderlust takes hold and the arts becomes my jealous paramour." and... 2) "Engineering is my safety net. Writing is my passion. Acting is my escape when the other two become too much." So where does dancing fit in? Pretty much anywhere at this point... =)

Sherri Shepherd reviewed the dances on Good Morning America today!! Kelly and Val “wowed” her the most….not just because Val was her partner last season, but, for how good they were. Melissa and Tony impressed her too. She takes Bristol’s side in the fight with she and Mark. Sherri also doesn’t think Mark and Bristol are going home tonight. You can watch Sherri’s interview and review on the night in more detail at Good Morning America here.

Also, Henry of PopTVDotCom has some fun coverage of the cast going to an After party at Mixology. Several of them comment on how nervous they are for tonight’s double elimination. They all look stylish as ever.

Stay tuned. Heidi’s Numbers post is next and who she thinks will be eliminated!! I think Marianya might have some goodies for you too coming up.

I'm a fashion and music fan....and I have always loved dancing too of any kind. Dancing With The Stars seems to have this way of bringing all of those things together. One of my favorite dancing quotes at the moment: "No matter what, nobody can take away the dance you've already had...." ~Gleb Savchenko . For fun music and dance mixes, visit WilUnleashed Soundcloud.

Anyone else find it somewhat (ok, not at all) coincidental that the two women likely in the most trouble with voters were also at the top of the leaderboard, yet had dances that were not even close to tied for the best of the night?? Don’t get me wrong, I like both Melissa and Kelly very much, but even with docked points for breaking the rules, Shawn and Apolo belong at the top of the leaderboard. The only thing that comes to my mind is that they are doing fine in votes, and Melissa and Kelly both need protection from Kirstie and Bristol. Why do they warrant protection and Drew and Helio don’t?? Well…Drew and Helio don’t work for ABC. Melissa and Kelly (and Gilles) both do work for ABC. There are no coincidences. Sure, Apolo and Shawn are likely fine – but it chaps my ass that for two weeks in a row Apolo has gotten screwed and this week Shawn joins him. There is no way – no way – that either Melissa or Kelly deserve to be a full point and a half ahead of Apolo. I say, give them each a 25.5 or 26, Apolo a 27 or 28 and Shawn a 27 (only because she broke the rules).

Note to Mark, Louis and Maks – Derek is the example that you all should look to when being chastised for breaking the rules. All Derek and Shawn wanted from Len was the admission that he liked the dance very much. That is telling. They both knew full well they were going to be docked – the only question was by how much. I’m still in awe of how much air Derek got when doing the jump split or whatever it’s called. He got higher than Shawn did! As for Apolo – honey, sexy ain’t work for you, you is HOT. Ten times hotter than Gilles. Not like that is a stretch this season.

ANYway, let’s analyze who has the best shot of sticking around and who…doesn’t.

The Judges Scores and Percentages

Well, I hate to say it, but barring a miracle, I think Drew might be toast. That makes me sad, because I like Drew, and Bristol? Not so much. Kirstie only needs one more vote than him and Bristol needs a number that she easily got over him once before. I have a hard time imagining a scenario where she doesn’t do it again, especially since I think most viewers are going to view her with sympathy, thanks to how the show aired the footage last night. Anyway, let’s look at what Bristol has to do to stick around. She needs TWO of the following:

– Bristol needs 5,400 more votes per million votes cast than either Kirstie or Drew, OR;

– Bristol needs 9,000 more votes per million votes cast than Emmitt, OR;

– Bristol needs 10,800 more votes per million votes cast than EITHER Gilles, Sabrina, Helio or Apolo, OR;

– Bristol needs 14,400 more votes per million votes cast than Shawn, OR;

– Bristol needs 16,200 more votes per million votes cast the either Kelly or Melissa.

Hmmm….looking at it like that, I’m not entirely sure that Kelly or Melissa are safe. But they probably are – I think Drew is toast in this scenario. The question is – who else is toast?? Bristol, as the low scorer, needs to jump over TWO people in order to stay, not just one. Boy oh boy – tonight could be interesting. My gut tells me that since Helio already made a trip to the bottom two, that he’s the likely second eliminee (sorry Brooke). Emmitt might be over rated with the audience, or one of the top three could be in trouble simply out of fans certainty that they are safe. Or it could be someone else in the middle of the pack. Anyway… Read more..

I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)

It’s media time after the dance on Dancing With The Stars! What a night!! I’m still so blown away by Derek & Shawn’s performance…and what about Kelly & Val (the dark horse!! Or is the dark horse Melissa and Tony?) and Apolo & Karina? I could go on and on. Ok, let’s get some reactions from the couples with George Pennacchio of On The Red Carpet and more….

First up, Kirstie and Maks. They talk of embracing their characters last night. Is Maks wearing a mouth piece? LOL to having a new respect for women because his make-up hurts everywhere. So funny.

Emmitt hopes the fans are voting. He and Cheryl don’t like being towards the bottom, but, they hope to just keep focusing on the dance. What’s important is that the fans are happy. They loved the audience reaction at the end of their dance. They can’t wait to have Paula Abdul as a judge next week.

Melissa doesn’t mind being compared to a Cola by Len. She’ll take any kind of compliment. Tony couldn’t be more proud of a partner as he is in Melissa. Practice was tough all week, but, it was worth it last night when the dance came together.

George highlights Bristol’s strength and ability to tell it like it is. She’s glad the rough week is over. They are still at the bottom and hope their fans will vote and keep them in. If they survive, Bristol is excited to see what dance the couples pick for them. George tries to get more from her, but, she won’t give it. She wants to keep things in perspective (I never know what she means when she says that?).

I'm a fashion and music fan....and I have always loved dancing too of any kind. Dancing With The Stars seems to have this way of bringing all of those things together. One of my favorite dancing quotes at the moment: "No matter what, nobody can take away the dance you've already had...." ~Gleb Savchenko . For fun music and dance mixes, visit WilUnleashed Soundcloud.